


Swords, Sorcery, and Romance

by SperoDeoVolente



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Fluff and Angst, Horses, Knights - Freeform, M/M, Magic-Users, Monsters, Romance, Temporary Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-23
Updated: 2016-12-23
Packaged: 2018-09-11 11:24:02
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,542
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8977660
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SperoDeoVolente/pseuds/SperoDeoVolente
Summary: Jack is a knight. He does what his king tells him. It was supposed to be an easy assignment, escort some high ranked Blackwatch Wizard safely to the Capitol. Only Gabriel Reyes has other plans that don't involve staying safe. Will Jack be able to fulfill his duty to his king? Or will he die for Gabriel Reyes rescue mission?





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [OttieDottie](https://archiveofourown.org/users/OttieDottie/gifts).



> oTL  
> I got carried away.  
> Ran out of time before I could add in all the story I had in my brain.  
> Hope you like it.  
> oTL

Jack Morrison is a knight of the realm. He does his duty without complaint to the best of his ability. When his liege, and good friend, King Reinhardt requested that he escort a powerful Blackwatch Wizard he agreed without a moment’s hesitation. Shouldn’t be that hard of an assignment, he figured as he accepted. After all, the kingdoms of Overwatch and Blackwatch had been at peace for thirty two years, ten months, three weeks, and four days. Animosity isn’t really an issue he’s encountered when dealing with the citizens of Blackwatch. Several of his fellows, most notably, Torbjörn Lindholm refuse to work with mages at all. Some deeply ingrained prejudice against all things magic is all that Jack knows. There’s more to why his fellow knight hates magic, but Jack has never found out.

 

Jack also interacts with a lot of mages, thanks to his family. He’s learned how to handle all sorts of magic users thanks to one of his more unusual abilities. As the youngest child of the Morrison line, the only boy, with all his older sister’s being powerful mages, magic doesn’t faze him at all. Literally, Jack is immune to all magic. Scholars suspect it is the Goddess’ Blessing, otherwise he’d never survive having nine S Class older sisters. He can work with enchanted gear, but he can’t be enchanted himself. Magic just doesn’t stick to him like it does regular people. A perk when one has a lot of wayward sorceresses for siblings who like to practice spells on each other. Not such a perk when he needs magical healing. Sadly, his famous ability to handle mages is not proving to be the case this time. Not even an hour into his assignment and he’s already wanting to curse the job. Instead he bites his lower lip to keep quiet, face hidden by the heavy metal helmet protecting his head.

 

On paper, the job is simple enough. Escort the powerful sorcerer known as “The Reaper” from Blackwatch to Overwatch, without any harm caused to the Wizard. He’s completed over a dozen such missions in the past without issue. No, the problem is the man himself. Jack had found out the Wizard’s name to be Gabriel Reyes, and he lived in an elaborate mason on the outskirts of Blackwatch. Most people that fully master magic gather a lot of wealth, and live in houses far too large. It’s not surprising that the Reaper lives in a twenty story building surrounded with neatly cultivated gardens for four miles in all directions. What is surprising is that he, an emissary of Overwatch, one of highest ranked Knights of the realm, a member of minor royalty, is not allowed inside. If Jack were any less a professional, he’d tell the Reaper he’s an inconsiderate pottle-deep scut to his face. Sadly, his liege’s honor is reflected through his attitude so telling this ???. Hands clench and unclench with each thought at this indignity upon his person. Sir Jack Morrison is being forced to wait outside, like a mere commoner, until the high and mighty Reaper is ready to go. Never in his entire career as a knight, has he ever had to wait outside. Twice he’s been stuck inside at the foyer, but this is a new level of insulting.

 

Even with enchantments on his armor, it weighs over a hundred pounds. Slung over his shoulder, resting heavy on his back, is his sword. It’s a massive beast of a weapon, that is just about his body height in length. That weapon alone adds an additional ten pounds. If it weren’t for his sister’s spells to make it more manageable, he wouldn’t be able to wield it.  To make the insult worse, the weather is baking hot. Directly above his head, the sun pounds down on him. Even with Amber May’s magic on his armor to negate sweat, he feels the slightest trickle of hot water running down his spine. Briefly he makes a mental note to tell his sister about this happening. She would like to know. Although he has some of the most enchanted gear in the entire kingdom, a lot of it is his sisters experimenting with magic. This will be one of a few times he’s needed to report a problem to them. Unable to really do much he studies his surroundings. A flurry of activity, someone is fiddling with curtains on a second story window facing the courtyard, catching his gaze, drawing his blue eyes to the window. Before he can observe who is spying on him, the Wizard who has caused him such annoyance finally shows himself.

 

First two rows of pages, all under the age of ten line up along the steps, trumpets under each arm. Jack recognizes what will happen, and one fist keeps a firm grasp on Corn’s reigns. Even though his horse is battle trained, Jack knows not to take any risks. Two minutes after the pages start trumpeting away, the Reaper finally seemingly floats down the front steps. Bolstered by magic, black robes float around in a smooth, controlled manner. Which, Jack knows to a massive waste of magic. Why not just walk like a regular person? His horse gently butts his golden head against Jack’s chest, demanding attention. Corn is not impressed with all the dramatics, and Jack doesn’t blame him. Seems rather overdone for just walking outside? If the Reaper wanted to impress Jack, this is not the way to do it. No, inviting him inside right away would have been a good start.

 

“Let’s go. We’re behind schedule.” Jack barks out, not bothering to even remove his helmet before speaking. The Wizard stops in his steps, and stares at Jack a little in offended silence.

 

“Don’t you know who I am?” The Reaper demands, planting both hands over his hips, giving Jack a rather dark glare. 

 

No longer floating, the Wizard’s robes settle down on his body, giving Jack a better idea of the man’s build. Quickly Jack assess the man, trying to figure out how much of a risk he would be in a fist fight. Since Jack isn’t affected by magic, in the rare cases he has to subdue a mage, it comes down to a good, old melee combat. Certainly not chubby like most mages he knows! No, Gabriel Reyes has a muscular body under those silky black robes. Wide shoulders, solid muscles in the arms, a narrow waist, and impressive thighs from what Jack can determine. Unlike most mages who wear large robes, in a vain attempt to hide a chubby gut, the immaculate black robes on the Reaper are a snug fit. Strong facial features, stubborn jaw sporting a neat, well maintained goatee, and thick brown curls indicate a proud man that takes very good care of his body. Not the easiest target in a fist fight.

 

“Gabriel Reyes. High Wizard of Blackwatch. Rank S Class Wizard. Commonly known as the Reaper. Specializes in necromancy, however, it is on record you drabble in a lot of other magics with no real mastery beyond necromancy.” Jack lists off each of these facts with a tick of his fingers. His horse helpfully mirrors his unimpressed stare. Corn is exceptionally intelligent, and often mirrors his owners facial expression. “I don’t care who you are. I care that we are behind schedule. It’s not my job to be impressed, it’s my job to escort you safely to the capital of Overwatch in a timely manner.” The last bit is a bit of fib on Jack’s part, Reinhardt hadn’t given him a strict deadline to see the Blackwatch Wizard’s safe arrival.

 

“I...oh...um...who are you again?” Gabriel Reyes stammers a bit at Jack’s matter of fact recital of his abilities. If Jack didn’t think the man an idiot for leaving him to roast in the hot sun, he would almost consider the flushed look endearing. As it is, Jack wishes the Wizard extreme discomfort to match his own. 

 

“Jack.” Jack just gives his preferred name, not any of his formal titles. 

 

Sir John Morrison the sixth, Strike Commander to the Knights of Overwatch, is famous and often inspires awe in anyone who even has a remote idea of who he is. He owns two sets of heavily enchanted armor, one that is simple and unadorned of any family symbols. His other armor is for formal occasions, and he hates paying to have it cleaned. Thus, he wore his simple armor, which has no indication of who he is. This guys is not worth impressing, so it wasn’t high on his list of things to budget cleaning his formal gear after a long trip on the road. Since this Wizard is unaware of who he is, he’ll hold the information against him. Later, when he has a better chance to embarrass the Reaper, he’ll reveal the level of indignities against his person. Currently, he wants to get on the road.  

 

“Right. Your name is just...Jack? No surname?” Gabriel probes him for information, one of his hands making a waving motion.

 

“For you, it’s just Jack. Let’s get moving Reyes, we’re wasting precious daylight.” Jack recognizes the hand motion, the guy just tried to spell him into doing his command. Unfortunately for this S Class Wizard, no spells work on him. It’s why he is chosen to escort important mages, they can’t influence his decision making with their magic. With a fluid, practiced movement Jack slings himself up into the saddle using only one hand. He knows he is showing off, his shoulder will ache later for putting all this weight on just one hand to mount up. “Get a move on! You know how a ride a horse, right? Or is your skill set just raising the dead and flashy party tricks?”

 

“Wait. What?” Gabriel’s jaw goes a little slack at Jack’s reply, and his face grows red at the jab. “I know how to ride!” Both of his hands start to move in elaborate motions, and the ground just six feet to Jack’s right starts to tremble, shifting upwards. Not long after the ground starts to shift, breaking open, a black horse with some bones exposed rises out the dirt. Whatever this horse was, it comes properly saddled. A couple of pages rush forward, and place a few bags on the haunches of the animal, which stands placidly.   

 

A single eyebrow rises, nearly into his hairline at the sight. Thankfully his facial expressions are kept hidden by his helmet, the signs of his awe kept out of sight. That is some powerful summoning! Not an easy feat by means he knows of. Opal June would love to examine the animal, and for a brief moment Jack wonders if he could introduce Reyes to his sister. That idea is dashed quickly, and Jack chirps at Corn, indicating he should get going. Several loud curses are heard behind him as his charge hurries to catch up. Corn carries them roughly fifty yards down the lane before Reyes and his undead horse catch up.

 

“You have no chivalry for a knight. I assumed King Reinhardt would send his best to protect me.” Gabriel spits out at him, not pleased with being left behind like an idiot.

 

“I have plenty of chivalry. I just don’t spare any for people who leave me waiting outside in the hot sun for seventy-four minutes. I’ve seen pages treated with more respect then you showed me.” Jack can’t help his tart retort, his temper already starting to fray under the man’s mannerisms. 

 

“Why didn’t you just come in?!” Gabriel snarls back, his eyes flashing in challenge. Meanwhile, his creepy animated dead horse shows no interest in anything but keeping pace with Corn. There is no life in those dull, clouded eyes, but something else entirely.

 

“Because I can’t just walk into your home uninvited.” Jack’s tone is sharp, his hands tightening into a fist. Gabriel gives him a questioning look, showing actual interest in his reply. “There are rules about such situations. Queen Ana is exceptionally dedicated to all forms of courtly etiquette.” Jack explains the situation a bit in more detail. Ana Amari is a dear friend, and often a lot of amusement. Sadly, her obsession with rules is not as much fun. “If I just walked in without formal invitation from you, or your head steward, I would have broken at least nine of her rules. As a knight, I can’t just break the rules my Queen tasks me to keep at all times. I wasn’t invited, so I did what was required of me.” Jack goes silent after his explanation.

 

The ground beneath their horses hooves is paved with some exotic stone Jack has seen on every inch of road in Reyes’ lands. If he had to hazard an uneducated guess, he would think it some sort of onyx by the black sheen. Thanks to Ruby March, he knows a fair amount about earth magics. Whatever Reyes paved his roads with is not onyx, but something else. It echoes loudly as they travel down it, and the oddly loud clinking of horseshoe instantly fades to the more familiar dull thud of paved dirt once they hid the main road. Free of the artificial gardens, the land is now more mundane grasslands. Far down the Southern Road are the faintest hints of Hanamura forest, its massive oak crowns visible even at this distance. Roughly a month's ride down the Western Road is the Capital of Overwatch. That’s the road Jack plans on taking to get them both to the Capital.

 

“Wait! Why you are going that way?” Gabriel gives him an astonished look as Jack starts to nudge Corn down the Western Road.   

 

“Because it’s the safest way.” Jack isn’t going to argue. He’s been through the Hanamura forest before. It is the shorter road, if the forest wasn’t full of monsters that would try to kill them every inch of the way. The job is to get the Reaper back safe, and the best way to do it is going the long way. He’d rather be on the road for a month, compared to the mere week it would take if they survived the Southern Road.

 

“You just told me that it was your job to get me to the Capital in a timely manner. The fastest route is through Hanamura forest.” Gabriel refuses to follow, and his gaze an oddly intense look on it.

 

“The more important part of the job is getting you there without harm coming to you. Hanamura is full of monsters I’d have to fight to keep you safe. Failure is not an option. I will not let down my liege, we’re going down the Western Road.” Jack’s tone is harsh, he hates failure. It is tempting to have monsters scare Reyes, but the mission comes before his desire to see that pestilence put into his place. 

 

“I can protect myself just fine. You’re nothing more than a formality. Surely King Reinhardt wouldn’t send a knight that couldn't keep me safe in Hanamura? We’re going through Hanamura.” Gabriel eyes bore straight through him, and again he does the hand waving thing in an attempt to bespell Jack into going his way.

 

“No. We’re going down the Western Road. I can keep you safe in Hanamura, but I don’t want to do this the hard way.” Jack signals with his knees for Corn to start going down the Western Road, forcing Gabriel to follow him. What’s his obsession with going through Hanamura?

 

“Jack! Wait! Stop! Please!” Gabriel shouts out to him, and Jack keeps going despite the pleading tone. Before he can get much more than three yards down the road, Gabriel and his spooky undead horse are suddenly in front of him, blocking the way.

 

“What is your deal, Reyes? Why do you want to put your life at risk?” Jack’s voice rises in volume, and he stands up in the stirrups. Corn dances a bit beneath him, anxious at his master's’ tone. 

 

“Because she’s dying!” Gabriel yells back, his voice cracking at the last word, while also standing up in his stirrups to match Jack’s height advantage.

 

“Explain.” Jack settles back down on the saddle, one of his hands petting Corn’s soft, golden mane in a vain hope to calm down. There is far more going on here then he was first informed.

 

“My youngest sister is dying. She has the Blood Pox.” Gabriel also settles down in his saddle, his hands shaking. His gaze never leaves Jack’s, and he continues his story. “The cure she needs depends on an ingredient only found in Hanamura. I would buy the stuff if I could, but no one has successfully gathered chimera teeth since the last Crisis. There are none to buy. When King Reinhardt requested King McCree send a Wizard I volunteered for the task. I figured that since I’m the High Wizard, I would be assigned a powerful knight.” Gabriel does break eye contact with the next sentence, face flushing red. “With their help, I could successfully gather some chimera teeth. I’d have the cure made upon arrival at the Capital, and have it sent to Sombra with haste. Please, Jack. I need your help to save my sister.” Gabriel goes silent, and stares at his hands, shoulders slumped

 

Jack knew he was going to change his well laid plans the moment Gabriel mentioned a sister. The Goddess alone knows the extremes he has gone through for his own sisters. They’re a royal pain, always badgering him, but he loves them. Gabriel wants to save his sister, and Jack understands all too well the extremes people go to for family. It’s also alarming to hear that there is a case of the Blood Pox. That particularly nasty disease has been dormant for over a hundred years, easily. The lack of chimera teeth for the cure isn’t surprising. At the sad sight Gabriel makes, all hunched over, hands shaking, Jack decides that he will get those chimera teeth no matter what. Besides, when was the last time he had a real challenge in battle?

 

“Okay. Let’s do this.” Jack gives a gentle tug on Corn’s reigns, turning him in the direction of Hanamura forest.

 

“That’s it? You’re not going to fight me over this?” Gabriel also nudges his mount to follow, soon catching up so they’re riding side by side.      

“It’s my job.” Jack says with a light shrug of his shoulders. At the slack jawed, wide eyed look Gabriel gives him, emotions stir in his gut. “Beyond just keeping you safe, I mean. One of the solemn duties of a knight is providing aide to those in need. If your sister needs chimera teeth, it is my duty to help save her. That, and if she has the Blood Pox, others may as well. By gathering chimera teeth, I can help make a cure for many others.” 

 

“Thanks.” Gabriel gives him a large smile that transforms his entire face into something else. Before, Jack would have pegged Gabriel Reyes as handsome at best, but with a smile like that… + he decides that Reyes is drop dead gorgeous. It warms Jack’s gut, and he feels stupidly pleased by the look directed his way. Thank the Goddess his helmet hides his blush! 

 

“Don’t thank me until we succeed. Hanamura is full of really powerful monsters. We’ll need to find and kill a chimera on top of making it through alive. I’ve barely made it through Hanamura alive in the past.” Jack’s voice grows dark, as he knows that he’s at a higher risk. He can’t be healed by magic. If he gets seriously injured, he has to heal the slow way. A jaunt through Hanamura wasn’t on his agenda, so he didn’t pack up the usual stock of antidotes, bandages, and so forth such a trip necessitated. However, there is a young girl depending on him, his own life is secondary to getting the chimera teeth, and Gabriel, out alive.

 

“We will succeed, Jack.” Gabriel sounds so certain Jack can’t help but a smile a bit under his helmet. “I’m an S Class Wizard, and you’re… a knight with a ridiculously large sword.” Gabriel really looks him over, and Jack can feel his gaze linger on his broadsword. “Can you use it, or are you compensating for something?” That tone is definitely suggestive, and Jack feels his face go very red. 

 

“I can use it just fine, thanks.” Jack uses a suggestive tone in reply, not specifying if he is referring to his dick or his weapon. “I’ll be sure to show it off for you later. I’ve been known to do private demonstrations.” Jack actually laughs at the blush spreading across Gabriel’s face. Even his ears get a slightly pink look at the very tips! After that, they ride in fairly comfortable silence for several miles. Seemingly endless grass, roughly knee height flow by without change. All the while the huge trees only grow larger as they draw nearer.

 

“Hey Jack.” Gabriel calls his name, yanking him from rather naughty thoughts. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know about the whole invitation rules you follow. I was busy spending time with Sombra. If I had known, I would have invited you inside. But I didn’t and that’s my fault. I messed up there. You suffered due to my ignorance.” Gabriel slides him another look, this one more contemplative. “Also, sorry for trying to bespell you into going. That was a rotten idea on my part.”

 

“You’re forgiven, Reyes. I’m not that surprised you didn’t know. Queen Ana is really into the rules. She’s picked up the habit when she invited Princess Satya Vaswani to live at court. Satya is a real sweet gal, but she’s obsessed with rules, and order.” Jack shakes his head a bit at the some of the fond memories he has Satya. “And don’t worry about the bespelling thing. It wouldn’t have worked anyway.”

 

“Alright.” Gabriel smiles at the pardon, and continues to just stare. “Hey, call me Gabriel would you? I hate being called by my last name. Too formal for my liking.” Gabriel hums a bit, and continues to give him that sideways look, studying him in some fashion. “Is it due to one of the gazillion enchantments you have on your armor? Something that blocks spells like that?”

 

“Oh no! I don’t need such an enchantment. I’m immune to magic. Any spells thrown at me slide right off without harm. Like water off a duck’s back, is what I’m told it looks like.” He shrugs a bit, knowing how often his sisters tried to spell him just to see what happened. “The enchantments are my sister’s work. All nine of them layer enchantments on my gear every time I go home. They’re always trying out new spells on my stuff.” 

 

“Wait. You’re immune to magic? You have nine sisters that are mages? There’s only one knight I know of… and you can’t be….” Gabriel looks at him, eyes widening in horror voice trailing off.

 

“Can’t be the Strike Commander, Sir John Morrison the sixth?” Jack reaches up with one hand, and lifts his helmet from his head. He securely ties it to his saddle, he won’t need it until they reach forest. His trademark golden hair flops limply over his head, still damp from sweat. His blue eyes dance at Gabriel actually squirming as he realizes who he had left out in the courtyard. However, his joy at Gabriel’s discomfort is not as much as he thought it would be. “Yeah, that’s me. Did you honestly think Overwatch would send just any knight to escort The High Wizard of Blackwatch? It’d be an insult if they sent anyone else. I’m usually assigned to mages because I can’t be bespelled into doing something besides the given task.”

 

“You’re not going to tell King Reinhardt about my… faux paux are you? I would not have left you outside if I had known. I would have greeted you personally.” Gabriel looks very nervous, as he knows that he made a serious breach in standard diplomatic procedures.     

 

“I won’t lie in my report. But I will word it so that they know it was an honest misunderstanding. You were concerned about your sister’s health, they’ll understand. They’re not unforgiving monsters, Gabriel.” Jack says with a smile, trying to ease up the worried look on Gabriel’s face. He looks much better happy.

 

“You’re really admirable Jack. Even though it’s hot, you waited outside until I showed up. You won’t lie to your king, but you’ll take the blame off me. I don’t know if I deserve your help after how I treated you.” Gabriel looks at his hands, fingers fidgeting with a ring he has on an index finger. “But… it’s good to know I have the best watching my back for this.”

 

“I’m a knight. It’s my job.” Jack shrugs a bit, not wanting that blind hero worship. It gets very boring very quickly, and it’s not something he likes to see in others. “I’m human. I make mistakes. But I’ll do my best to see about saving your sister. Besides, I haven’t had a real challenge in ages. It’ll be fun to test my sword against the beasts in Hanamura once more.” Stupid butterflies dance in his gut at hearing that Gabriel thinks he’s the best. There are better knights than he is!

 

“I’ll be fighting with you as well. I know how to handle myself in combat.” Gabriel gets a very wicked grin on his face, and he looks ahead at the forest looming dark and large on the horizon. “We’ll kick their asses, and be at the Capitol in no time at all, loaded with enough chimera teeth to save Sombra.”

 

“Yes.” Jack can’t help but feel some trepidation about this. He knows he isn’t prepared, not really. For such a hazardous mission, he should always stock up on mundane healing supplies for his sake. Sadly, he doubts they have the time to for him to go back and get supplies. The Blood Pox kills in under two weeks. They’ll need to find a chimera fast, time is short. “Let’s save your sister, and return as heroes. Well, I’m already a hero. It just means another medal on my wall.”

  
  
  


Jack learns about a lot about how the Reaper works in battle while they fight through the monsters of the Hanamura forest. Their days soon settle into a routine. After waking up and eating a good meal, Gabriel casts a search spell. Without any actual fresh tissue from a chimera, the spell can only do a general search at best. Then, they hike their way to the the suggested area, fighting monsters all the way. Jack’s blade is qualified for such a task, thanks to the many enchantments. Over a hundred magical runes are etched into the blade adding magical effectiveness to it. 

 

No matter what beast he fights, his blade will kill it if he keeps hacking away. They form a search pattern, with Jack clearing away the biggest monsters with his blade. Gabriel stands behind him, keeping an eye on his back. He’ll blast any smaller, nimble monster that sneaks too close into cinders with a classic fireball spell. They clear out a lot of monsters this way. Sadly, they’re on day seven with no sign of a chimera yet. Gabriel reassures him that Sombra is a powerful mage, and will last a bit longer than the average Blood Pox victim. That doesn’t ease up the worry lines that show up on his face, increasing in number with each passing day. 

 

Thanks to Gabriel, he’s not picked up much worse than some minor bruises by the end of the day. To his surprise, and pleasure, they make an excellent team. He’s never found such tasks really enjoyable in the past. With Gabriel at his side, his views on generic monster killing is shifting. Once they’re certain they’ve got an area completely clear of monsters, and evening is drawing near, they set up camp. Thanks to Gabriel’s wide pool of smaller magics, he’s able to set up impressive protection shields so they sleep soundly. Upon getting settled in for the night, they talk about various subjects. A common thing they talk about is sister horror stories. Never before has Jack laughed so hard. He’s finding himself really enjoying his time spent with Gabriel. Jack will miss Gabriel a lot when they’re forced to part ways.

 

“Any luck?” Jack hollers, not bothering to look over his shoulder. Gabriel is there, even if Jack can’t see him. Today the spell showed some real positive results for a monster that might be a chimera.

 

“No. My spell says it should be right here. But I don’t see anything! Just some odd rock formations.” Gabriel huffs loudly, not pleased about his spell failing. Jack smiles under his helmet, knowing that Gabriel is rolling his eyes and making a face at the spell working between his hands at the current moment.

 

Suddenly, Jack freezes in horror. His gaze shifts over to the rocks Gabriel was complaining about. They’re nothing to look at, just a bland grey stones, perfectly smooth. Several of them are jumbled together in a massive heap. One of them is just two feet from him. His gaze really looks at the rocks, noting how they seem to look more and more like various animals. Fear settles in his gut as he finally sees what is in front of them.

 

“ _ Gabriel! MOVE! _ ” Jack’s shouting as he’s moving backwards at a fast clip. He’s not fast enough to get clear when the stones move in reaction to his shout. What had been a pile of grey rocks is now a snake’s head speeding his way. Long silver fangs gleam, large in the center of his field of vision. He doesn’t have time to see if Gabriel moved out of range in time. As his body shifts to dodge the snake’s head, the tail slams into his side. He’s now airborne, the sickening sound of his bones breaking filling the air. He feels his body slide across the forest floor for several yards until he slams hard into a tree.

 

Before he’s even registered how much it hurts to get up, he’s standing on his feet. His vision is double, and Gabriel is not within view. No time to worry about Gabriel, he knows the man to be a capable Wizard. Instead he’s more concerned about the beast in front of him. It’s already starting to leave the area, not interested in fighting them. No, chimeras are known to be scavengers. They’ll fight initially, then back off quickly and come back much later to see if their attacks caused death. His ears are ringing, and he can’t make out much sound beyond the noise in his ears. What he does know, is if he lets that thing get away, it means the death of someone Gabriel loves dearly. With a yell, he charges the thing, sword at the ready. The lion head roars back at him, and two large claws from his right swing in. Unable to tell which is the real paw, he takes a gamble and ducks low. His helmet is clipped at the very top, but Jack manages to stay on his feet. The taste of blood is thick on his tongue. It’s bad, he won’t be able to take another blow. Instead he lets out another yell, and rushes forward again. 

 

This move catches the thing off guard, and the chimera freezes. Jack rams his sword deep into the thing’s gut. It screams in pain, and digs claws into his back. He feels them pierce his armor, and dig into his flesh. Still, he refuses to let it get away, so he continues his push, driving them backwards with his shove until he feels his sword connect with what feels like a tree. A loud grunt of pained effort leaves his lips, as he pins the thing there. His vision is going black, and his body hurts, but not as badly as he knows it should. There are parts of his body that are numb and shouldn’t be. He’s dying, he can tell. A suddenly bright light flares in his vision, snapping him back to the present moment. The beast slumps against his sword, looks like something - someone, probably Gabriel finished it off. Gentle, but firm hands peel off his helmet.

 

“Jack? Jack! Talk to me you idiot!” Gabriel is frantically doing his best to peel off his armor. Jack thinks it sweet that Gabriel wants to waste the time trying to save him. His tongue is heavy, he can’t find the strength to get it to move. There’s a warmth on his back, he knows the feeling. Its healing magic rolling off his body. It reminds him of getting a bath, only with warmth instead of wet. “Damn it! Why isn’t it working? Why aren’t you healing?!” Gabriel is sobbing, his voice cracking. That gets his tongue to work a little.

 

“Told you… immune to… magic.” Jack smiles a bit, his vision blurring badly. Now there are five or six Gabriels in his sight. Not a bad thing to see a lot of before death, he figures. It would be nice to spend more time with Gabriel, but he knows his time is limited. Death is coming for him, and Jack won’t run from his fate.

 

“You came into this cursed forest knowing I couldn’t heal you? Why did you agree to a suicide mission? WHY? I don’t want to lose you!” Gabriel grabs one his hands, and cups it to his face. Wet tears fall on his skin, Gabriel is crying for him. It pleases Jack that someone is crying while he dies. The chimera is dead behind him, Gabriel can get those teeth and save his sister.

 

“Because… my… job...” Jack gives Gabriel his best smile. “Glad… I… got… to… know… you…” He tries to explain and reassure Gabriel that he’s okay with dying like this. It’s a given in his line of work. In these past few days, he’s really come to enjoy spending time Gabriel. Some of the best days of his life, honestly. He doesn’t mind dying, he saved someone Gabriel loved. A life worth living, as his father would say. Knights never live long, so it’s always best to live a life you wouldn’t have regrets with. The pain eases away completely, and then Jack finds everything grow dark. He already misses Gabriel, but everything is blissfully numb and faded. It feels like he’s floating, and it’s the nicest feeling he’s ever had. Pleasantly warm, and feeling happier by the moment, Jack lets himself drift away in this state. Death isn’t so bad, not scary at all he decides.

 

“ _ NO!”  _ Gabriel’s pain filled scream pierces the veil, shattering the blissful feeling.

 

Something grabs Jack, and yanks on him hard. No longer blissfully numb, what feels like a net made of tiny fish hooks digs into his very essence. Pain like he’s never felt before surrounds him, and fills his every pore. It feels like he’s burning, but he doesn’t feel hot. If anything, he would say he feels freezing cold. Then, his world shatters again and Jack can’t breathe. He’s gasping for air, but nothing fills his lungs. Something bumps his back, and blessed air fills his lungs. Eyes snap open, and things slowly come into focus. He’s not dead. Instead he finds himself held in a tight embrace. Extremely confused by no longer being dead, he tries to focus on catching his breath instead. It hurts, everything hurts, but Jack knows it doesn’t hurt like it should. He feels like he’s got a body wide bruise, instead of the wounds he’d taken.  

 

“Easy, you’ll be fine. Here, drink something.” Gabriel eases Jack off his body, and holds up a cup full of cool liquid to his lips. Jack drinks the fluid greedily, his tongue struggling to form questions.

 

“What… did you do? Gabriel, I  _ died _ !” Jack tries to wrap his mind around this fact. Once a human dies, he’s pretty sure their soul is gone. Necromancers can revive bodies, but not return souls. Not to mention, Jack knows he’s immune to magic. Necromancy shouldn’t work on him!

 

“I don’t know! You died! I couldn’t lose you! I cast something, begging for you to come back to me.” Gabriel is rambling, voice and body shaking. Jack doesn’t think that really explains what happened, but he enjoys how close Gabriel is. _I offered my soul to bring you back!_ he hears in his mind.

 

_ “YOU DID WHAT WITH YOUR SOUL?”  _ Jack lets out a panicked scream at the words. He may not be a mage, but he knows enough that offering up a soul for anything is a gamble! The Goddess doesn’t take such offers kindly, or lightly. 

 

“I think…”  _ Can you hear this Jack?  _ Gabriel looks at him, mouth closed. But Jack still hears the words. This time he notices other odd things, like unfamiliar emotions tugging at him. It strongly reminds him of the undercurrent in a river.

 

“Yes.”  _ What’s happening?  _ Jack tentatively looks at all the emotions he feels, but knows aren’t his. The biggest grin comes over him at what he finds.  _ You really love me? _

 

“You’re an idiot.”  _ Yes, I love you.  _ Jack wraps his arms around Gabriel, returning the embrace. The sheer amount of feelings Gabriel has for him is humbling. _ For what I know of such spells… I offered my soul in exchange for your life. The Goddess bound us together when she brought you back to me.  _

 

“I love you too.”  _ Now what?  _ Jack plants a clumsy kiss on Gabriel’s lips. He gets kissed in return, their tongues fighting for dominance. Gabriel ends the kiss with a gentle nip. 

 

“Now we get these chimera teeth back to the Capitol. Then we explain what happened, and we’ll get tested within an inch of our lives. My sisters will want to know what the spell I cast did to us.” Gabriel gently rubs circles on Jack’s back, and a foreign sensation goes down his spine. It feels like the tingling sensation he gets when his legs fall asleep, but it doesn’t last for long. As the pin prickle feelings fade, so does any pain. He feels like he just woke up from a long, restful sleep.

 

“You just healed me. Am I no longer immune to magic?” Jack murmurs, not really caring at this point. Until a sudden thought comes to mind. “Oh shit, my sisters will want to test this within an inch of my life.”

 

“Don’t worry. I’ve got your back. My sisters will want to test us as well. We’ll weather the storm of pestering sisters together.” Gabriel continues to hold Jack, and he’s fine with that. 

 

“Yes, we’ll do this together.” Jack smiles, curious as to what the future will hold for him. The Goddess saved him, and he gets to be with Gabriel. No matter how bad things get, he won’t go through them alone. 

__


End file.
